Zombie Creation
Zombie Traits Start with the following basic traits. Spend creation points to improve the zombie. Every zombie created in the same "batch" (whether by spell, numen, dark ritual, or biological plague) shares the same allocation of game traits. Defense: Zombies do not have the survival instinct necessary to dodge or block incoming attacks. As such, their Defense is 0. Health: Zombies start with a number of Health points equal to their Size ratings. They do not add their Resilience to their Health. They receive additional Health points for every level of the Tough Aspect taken. Zombies do not suffer from wound penalties. Initiative: A zombie's Initiative rating is equal to its Finesse. Physical Integrity: Physical Integrity is a special trait describing the state of the zombie's undead body. A zombie created from a corpse with all of its limbs and no missing parts starts with an Integrity of 10. Missing both legs or both arms would indicate a starting trait of 5. Physical Integrity limits the maximum number of dice in the zombie's dice pools. This trait also describes the overall functionality of the zombie, meaning that the reduction of integrity is not necessarily decomposition or losing limbs. Zombies created through magical means could slowly bleed off the energies needed to reanimate them; or a disease creating the living dead might consume the corpses from the inside out leaving them useless after days, weeks, or months. Every (Resilience) days, zombies lose one point of Physical Integrity. Under most circumstances, Physical Integrity cannot be replenished once it is lost. Once all of a zombie's Health points are depleted, subtract any damage done from the remaining points of Physical Integrity. Once this trait reaches zero the zombie is neutralized. A zombie with one point of Physical Integrity left usually represents the classic decapitated, but still dangerous, zombie head. Size: Standard size values are used for zombies (5 for a human adult corpse). See the World of Darkness Rulebook for animal and child Size values (p. 94). Speed: A zombie's speed is equal its Finesse or Power, whichever is lower. No species factor is added. For zombies with greater Speed see the Quick Movement Aspect. Zombies do not possess Skills, Merits, Willpower, or a Morality rating. Damage and Healing Zombies do not differentiate between bashing, lethal and aggravated damage. They cannot normally heal damage at all, unless the Regeneration Aspect is purchased. Zombies do no suffer wound penalties. Attacks Zombies can attack in any method that a human being can, but very few of them have the intelligence necessary to use a weapon, though some can manage to swing an object like a club (Finesse of 4 or more). Bite attacks inflict bashing damage unless the Vicious Bite Aspect is purchased. Aspects All zombies have special powers and qualities depending on the particulars of their rise to undeath. Some aspects can be purchased multiple times. Storytellers should create their own Aspects to suit the needs of their stories. ; Attributes ⬤⬤+ : Not technically an Aspect, but to raise a zombie's attributes, the cost is two creation points per additional dot of Power, Finesse, or Resilience. ; Autonomous Parts ⬤⬤ : Even after an individual piece of the zombie is removed from the whole, it still maintains a basic will and connection to the zombie. Hands can crawl on the ground and decapitated heads can bite. Physical Integrity is split among separated parts instead of being lost. An arm worth two points of Physical Integrity would have two dice for all of its actions. ; Contagious : A common element of zombie stories, this Aspect describes the virulence of the zombism. Zombies created through voodoo or other magics do not normally have this Aspect. The number of times the Aspect is purchased determines how easily the undeath is passed on. : ⬤ The zombie must kill a person for him or her to join the ranks of the undead. ⬤⬤ The zombie can infect dead targets with saliva or blood. ⬤⬤⬤ Communicable through blood or saliva to living targets. ⬤⬤⬤⬤ Airborne. Welcome to the apocalypse. ; Death's Voice ⬤ : The zombie emits a sound capable of unnerving any living being who hears it. Anyone who can hear the zombie's moans for more than (Composure) consecutive hours must roll Resolve + Composure - the zombie's Power. Failure means the listener loses one Willpower point, while a dramatic failure means the character immediately gains a derangement. The player must make this Resolve + Composure roll each day that the character is exposed to Death's Voice, but for each past failed roll, the player receives a -1 modifier. So if a character has been exposed to Death's Voice for four consecutive days and the player has failed the roll twice, on the fifth day the player receives a -2 modifier. One full day without hearing the sound negates this modifier and the player rolls the character's full Resolve + Composure if the character comes into contact with Death's Voice again. Vampires are less vulnerable to this Aspect by virtue of being dead already. They add their Blood Potency to the roll. ; Indestructible ⬤⬤ : The only way to destroy a zombie with this ability is to reduce its Physical Integrity to 0. The zombie is not vulnerable to a specific form of attack or hit location (such as destroying the brain). If this Aspect is not purchased, the Vulnerability Weakness must be taken. ; Limited Intelligence ⬤ : The zombie is capable of extremely basic problem solving. Zombies with Limited Intelligence may turn doorknobs, climb ladders (if their motor control allows), and pick up basic hand-held weapons to use. Zombies created through voodoo or other magical means are most likely to possess this Aspect. ; Magic Resistance ⬤+ : The zombie's soulless form is animated by powerful magic, a primal evil or savage disease. Any attempt to use magic to put the undead back to rest is less effective. Each purchase of this Aspect adds a +1 bonus to the zombie's Resilience when resisting the effects of magic. ; Pack Instinct : This Aspect describes a group of zombies created by the same source, and tied into an instinctive hive mind. The number of times this Aspect is taken dictates the range of the telepathic bond. A single zombie can bring down an army of undead should it find a source of food, or the target of its master's wrath. : ⬤ 1 mile ⬤⬤ 10 miles ⬤⬤⬤ 1,000 miles ⬤⬤⬤⬤ 10,000 miles ; Preservation : Normally, a zombie degrades gradually over time. This represents continued rot and decay, the re-animating disease eventually dying, the zombie starving to death, or the magical rituals maintaining undeath weakening. Purchasing this Aspect increases the time before the undead disintegrates. Normally 1 point of Physical Integrity is lost every (Resilience) days. : ⬤ 1 point every (Resilience) weeks ⬤⬤ 1 point every (Resilience) months ⬤⬤⬤ No degradation ; Quick Movement ⬤+ : The first dot of this Aspect gives the zombie a Speed equal to Power + Finesse (instead of the lower of the two). Each additional dot adds +5 to the zombie's Speed and Initiative. ; Regeneration : The zombie's Health points return at a rate dependent on how many times this Aspect is purchased. Without this Aspect, zombies cannot heal damage. Even with this Aspect, zombies cannot heal damage inflicted through a Vulnerability Weakness. Note: Regeneration only allows Health recovery, not Physical Integrity. : ⬤ 1 Health per day ⬤⬤ 1 Health per hour ⬤⬤⬤ 1 Health per minute ; Sensitivity ⬤+ : Each time this Aspect is purchased the zombie is keenly aware of one type of target or phenomenon. Possibilities include: living animals, dead animals, magic, evil, virtue, holy ground, or anything else the Storyteller conceives. If someone is actively hiding, make a contested roll using the zombie's Finesse with a +3 bonus versus the character actively trying to hide. Appropriate dice pools vary depending on what type of sensitivity is being used. Composure + Stealth should be rolled to avoid detection by a zombie sensitive to living animals, where as a Wits + Occult roll may hide from magical detection. Supernatural stealth powers operate normally; the player opposes the Finesse roll with the appropriate roll for the power. ; Special Attack ⬤+ : Each purchase of Special Attack purchased grants the zombie one of the attacks listed below. Add a +2 modifier to the zombie's Power whenever making a special attack purchased as an Aspect. Zombies without a specific special attack may still perform the maneuver, but do not receive the additional dice given by the Special Attack Aspect. : Bite The zombie takes a hunk out of the nearest piece of meat (this inflicts bashing damage unless the Vicious Bite Aspect is also purchased). Tackle Particularly scary when performed by an otherwise-slow walking dead, the zombie lurches forward violently, knocking the target to the ground. Crushing Grip The zombie can crush bone or penetrate skin with its deadly hand strength. Entangle The full weight of the zombie is applied to the target and the undead grapples with the victim. See grappling rules in the World of Darkness Rulebook (pp. 157-159). Haymaker The fearsome zombie punch. The creature swings its arm like a club and bludgeons the target with dead flesh and bone. ; Tough ⬤+ : Every purchase of Tough adds two Health points. ; Undead Strength ⬤+ : For each purchase of this Aspect, the zombie gains a +1 bonus on any roll involving physical strength, other than attacks. ; Vicious Bite ⬤ : The zombie inflicts lethal damage with a bite attack. Without this Aspect, zombies inflict bashing damage just as normal mortals do. Weaknesses Like Aspects, Weaknesses stem from the method by which the zombie or zombies returned to the living world. Each weakness taken adds creation points to the zombie. As with Aspects, some can be taken multiple times. See the creation guidelines below. Storytellers should create their own Weaknesses to suit the needs of their story. Note: All zombies must have a Vulnerability Weakness, for which they receive no extra points. The Indestructible Aspect removes this requirement. ; Brittle ◯◯ : The zombie corpse is old or the re-animation process weakened the physical shell of the undead. All attacks made against the zombie inflict double damage. ; Decomposition ◯+ : The mobile cadaver started with serious trauma to major limbs. Every dot of this Weakness lowers the zombie's starting Physical Integrity rating by -1. ; Hunger ◯◯ : The zombie never stops feeding. Classic zombie cuisine normally consists of human brains and flesh, but some zombies might have a more restricted palate. The zombie exists only to eat; therefore, it is easily distracted and always pursues the most immediate food source. ; Intensely Stupid ◯◯ : Few zombies ever join Mensa, but zombies with this Weakness are incapable of even the most fundamental discernment. Any movement or sign of life attracts the monster. Anyone it cannot see for more than a few seconds no longer exists to the mentally deficient undead. ; Residual Memories ◯◯ : While redeeming or curing the zombie except through destruction is impossible, the creature possesses a few salient memories and feelings from life. When presented with a loved one or other appropriate stimulus, the zombie will stop attacking for (Resilience) turns. After this time, the feeling fades and even the undead's nearest and dearest are not safe. ; Unholy ◯ : The Zombie suffers damage from blessed items as described on p. 214 of the World of Darkness Rulebook. Abjurations force the zombie to leave the immediate area. ; Short-Lived ◯◯ : The disease or enchantment granting unlife is volatile or destructive to the zombie's body. The rate at which the zombie loses Physical Integrity is equal to Resilience in hours, not days. ; Vulnerability ◯◯ : Damage to the brain, fire, and destroying the heart are all common examples of vulnerabilities for a zombie. The destruction method for a magically created zombie might be more esoteric or not reliant on physical damage (destroying the container the person's soul is trapped in for example). A zombie that suffers damage through its Vulnerability is destroyed instantly. Zombies Vulnerable to fire burn to ash in seconds, while a zombie Vulnerable to damage to the brain falls to the ground, truly dead, if shot in the head (see the Specified Targets rules on p. 165 of the World of Darkness Rulebook). Category:2600mage